Franklin W. Minert Collection

The Franklin W. Minert Collection contains photographic, textual and audiovisual materials relating to the career of Franklin Minert, a test pilot and boom operator for the Boeing Company, with items ranging from 1937-1993 (bulk 1940s-1950s).

The bulk of the collection consists of a total of 170 photographs and negatives documenting Boeing aircraft. Most of these are black-and-white, 8x10'' official Boeing photographs. Many depict U.S. Navy planes, but some images of commercial aircraft are also present. One folder contains photographs of Boeing employees and affiliates, including some of Minert. Boeing employees identified in these photographs include Sam Banister, Jack A. Danner, D.R. Donaldson, W.P. Elfendahl, Ira F. “Kettle Belly” Hewlett, Emil Hoeffer, Don L. Kelley, Orville Long, Henry S. "Sandy" McMurray, A. Elliott Merrill, Clayton L. Scott, Lyle E. Seehorn, and F. William Tunnell.

There is a small amount of textual material in the collection. One folder contains identification cards, pilots’ licenses, medical forms, membership cards, certificates, and registrations. One folder consists of assorted documents, including a certificate commemorating Minert’s 25 years at Boeing, various notes, and boom operator’s monthly reports for the KC-135 aircraft. There is one folder of newspaper clippings related to Minert and the Boeing Company and includes several issues of Boeing News with relevant articles highlighted. There is also a 1978 NASA Space Shuttle poster designed by Barron Storey.

The collection also contains 11 films, which are a mix of professional and personal documentation. Four of the films contain segments depicting aerial refueling, primarily U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy aircraft. Most contain aerial and landscape footage, much shot in Utah. Several of the films are home movies. Two of the films contain footage of the 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle, Washington. The films range from about two to thirteen minutes long.

Home movie films:

• Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) Seattle, Washington, 1962
• Footage of landscape and wildlife, likely in Utah, and brief airfield scene, circa 1950s-1960s
• Landscapes and landmarks, Utah, circa 1950s-1960s
• Landscapes and Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair), 1962
• Franklin W. Minert family home movies

Boeing-related films:

• Aerial refueling of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and views of terrain and other aircraft, circa 1950s-1960s
• Aerial views of mountains, circa 1950s-1960s
• Aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s
• Boeing 367-80 in flight and aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s
• Aerial views and airfield activities, circa 1950s-1960s
• Boeing KC-135 aerial refueling scenes, circa 1950s-1960s

Digitized Materials: The film materials and two photographs have been digitized from this collection.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.